//------------------------------// // III: Warrior's of Harmony // Story: Where in Equestria are we? // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// "What was that?" Lyra nervously asked, looking over the edge as Ponyville rapidly vanished behind them. "That was what used to be my LSBBF," a golden armored white coated stallion said, "Everypony refers to her by her name now, which is Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Dark Magic." "Shining Armor?" Lyra asked, watching the stallion remove his helmet and stare at them. "Vice Captain Shining Armor of the Warriors of Harmony," he said, bowing to the three mares, "Ex-husband of Princess Cadence and former Captain of the Solar Guard under Princess Celestia." "Twilight told us that you were the commander of the resistance," Derpy spoke up, "If you aren't the commander of the resistance then who is?" "That would be me," came a voice as another white coated pony walked by, except that this one was wearing the same glasses that Vinyl wore, "Vinyl Scratch, Commander of the Warriors of Harmony. Except where I'm working to defeat Oblivion my counterpart is working to locate this world's key." "Wait a second," Trixie said, "So your telling me that you are the Vinyl Scratch from our Equestria? The one who is supposed to know why we appeared in the Terminal and what we are actually doing?" "The very same," Vinyl said, the smoke clearing enough to see the rest of the ship, "Allow me to show you the flagship of the Warriors of Harmony, The Leviathan." The deck before them was the size of what might have been two centers of Ponyville put together, but the rest of the ship was made of metal. The sides had what seemed to be propellers that allowed the ship to fly through the air. From what Trixie saw it seemed like there were more than a dozen ponies running around the deck, making sure that everything was working as they approached what looked like a snowy area. Then, off in the distance, Trixie saw the structure of the Crystal Empire, which emitted a bunch of black smoke and darkness. "Wait, your base is near your enemies base?" Lyra asked, stunned by the idea of being so close to some much hate. "Yes," Vinyl said, the ship passing through a barrier and entering a huge area, "We thought it would be best to hide where our enemies might not be expecting us. As such we travel across what little remains of Equestria and gather those who fight against the hate. We search for the key that resides in this realm, hoping to secure it so we can close the lock on Oblivion's designs." The ship landed and the first thing Trixie noticed was the fact that the area was inhabited by more than thirty ponies like Twilight had told them. Instead there were at least a hundred ponies, counting those on the ship, in the Warriors of Harmony. And in the back of the base, imbedded in the wall of the mountain, was a gateway with swirling magical energies. It must have been the gateway that Vinyl had taken to get here in the first place. "Welcome to our base," Vinyl said, jumping off the ship and landing softly, "or our temporary base until we can obtain the key." "What is so special about this world's key?" Trixie asked, "It seems like everypony is interested in this simple key." "The Key of Hate isn't a simple key," Vinyl said, turning on Trixie and pinning her against the side of the ship with ease, "If Oblivion were to obtain the Key of Hate and harness the vast power resting inside it he could open a doorway to the Terminal. He could conquer the known worlds and drown everything in hatred until all light in vanquished. Seven keys were constructed to house his powers while his body was imprisoned in a special prison that could only be undone by the seven." "We have been searching for the key for weeks now," Shining said, releasing Trixie from Vinyl's grasp, "and with very little left to search we already fear that Oblivion has the first of the seven keys. With that belief in mind we are prepared to do the unthinkable and charge his base, maybe weaken his forces. If we get the key we can forestall his advance into the Terminal and halt his gathering of the keys." "Then lets go get it," Derpy said, bolting off into the distance before anypony could stop her. "What's she doing?" Shining demanded, "She'll ruin everything we worked to build." "No," Lyra answered, "She'll destroy the enemies base looking for the key. It will give us enough time to find it before Oblivion even realizes we're there." Trixie left Lyra at the base and followed her ally through the snow, somehow finding a path that led her all the way to the barrier protecting the Crystal Empire. Behind the barrier was what looked like the remains of a section of a large base. In the sky Trixie could see Derpy doing absolutely nothing and stuff would fall down or crumple as if they were made of paper. She passed through the barrier and looked around, noticing a faint red gleam from the balcony of the Empire's strange palace. As Trixie explored she noticed six figures standing behind something on the balcony, but she nearly felt her heart stop when she saw who they were. Standing on the balcony were Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Queen Chrysalis, Discord, and King Sombra. In front of them stood what appeared to be a unicorn at first, but when she blinked the figure appeared as a pegasus. When she blinked again the figure stood in front of her, allowing her to get a good look at his black coat, red draconic eyes, and silver mane. Ah, the mare known as Trixie," the pony said, turning his head to the side to reveal a necklace containing a red key attached to it, "You've come for the Key of Hate. No doubt to seal the door and prevent me from leaving my world. Tell me, would you truly like to have this key?" "Yes I would," Trixie said, already prepared to cast whatever spells needed to take the key by force. "it is around your neck as we speak," the pony said, the necklace gone and now around her own neck, "The Warriors of Harmony and the Soldiers of Hate will one day go to battle against each other. I will one day regain my lost powers with the help of all Seven keys. Take it and go, but remember that we will see each other again one day soon." The pony vanished when she blinked her eyes and the key was still around her neck. She quickly called to Derpy and the two made out of there like they were bandits. Trixie was unsettled by the pony's words, but the fact that she had the key was something. When they returned to the base, without any interruptions from the enemy, Vinyl looked at Trixie with wonder. "I have the key," she said, hoofing the metal object slightly, "so, um, can we please leave?" "Sure," Vinyl replied, surprising the mare with the fact that the base was quickly packed up until nothing was left, "What? I needed a better place to hide my army and the Terminal is the best location possible." The army was already walking through the gateway, so it left no other option for the five than to join their comrades on the other side. The airship had somehow made it through the gateway without breaking itself into pieces, so that made Shining happy. As they began to pass through the gate Trixie took one look back at the empty area before turning around and entering the magical portal. And as before she soon lost herself and remembered nothing more.